Constructing safety: reconciling error prevention and error management in oil & gas and petrochemicals operations

On the basis of a qualitative study of three different operational oil and gas and petrochemical sites, in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe, we examine how actors construe error prevention and error management and how they reconcile these approaches in their everyday practice. Our repertory grid data reveal that actors recognise the importance of error prevention, but also appreciate that emergent and unexpected issues require error management in order to trap, address or mitigate problems in the making. Errors are also regarded to play an important role in adaptation, innovation and learning. However, our interview data and analysis of incident investigation reports reflect a narrower range of factors and indicates a strongly institutionalised predisposition towards error prevention. There are practical implications for the management of process safety and for incident analysis, which may be overlooking the importance of error management, and also for individuals at the sharp end who may be coping with the gap between what they believe is important in terms of process safety and what they bring to the surface, share and document.